On the Way to Parenthood: Case of Nanaki & Deneh
by sanctum-c
Summary: Nanaki watches Deneh caring for their newborn children and reminisces.


**A/N:** Written for the prompt "Washing" and ariesecelestial's interpretation of it: _Nanaki watching Deneh wash their new cubs with her tongue and being all FUZZY FEELINGS_ The fic ignores the situation with Nanaki and Deneh as presented in _Before Crisis_.

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The small red cub let out a plaintive mewl as her mother's rough tongue nearly enveloped her. She squirmed and shifted as Deneh continued to clean her daughter before she moved onto her son. Nanaki lay beside his partner, watching as she diligently washed their children despite her obvious exhaustion and the slightly awkward pose had wound up in.

Nanaki felt about to burst with pride and delight at the sight of his children, knowing that they could only be here because he and Deneh had found each other. The difference between between knowing that you played a vital part in the creation of life and actually seeing that life lying in between their mother's paws, blind, squirming and adorable, was unexpectedly vast. For now the simple knowledge that he had children was overriding the more utilitarian thought that he now had a family and that his species was no longer facing extinction; though he still hoped that one day his children would find further members of his race.

In the aftermath of Meteorfall Nanaki resolved to begin searching for more like him. As the world slowly settled into it's post-Mako state, he left his canyon home behind and began searching. It was not until after Cloud's defeat of the resurrected Sephiroth in the ruins of Midgar that his exhaustive tracing of rumours, blurred photographs and hearsay lead him to a region near Banora. In amongst the southern islands, he caught his first glimpse of red fur and a blazing tail; his heart skipping a beat when they finally saw each other face to face. She had fled on instinct at their first meeting, paused to stare at him disbelieving before turning tail on the second, and was haltingly drawn into conversation on the third.

It took some time for Nanaki to gain her trust, the red quadruped did not and could not give up on his task. Over many months he slowly managed to draw Deneh into longer conversations, beginning to find out about her past, her experiences and ever so slowly gaining her trust. He spent several months living with her, slowly learning as she made use of hunting skills and stealth that he had never had occasion to use. After almost a year he was able to persuade her to at least visit Cosmo Canyon and see the sole other evidence that their species had existed at all.

To this day Deneh's expression made Nanaki smile when he remembered her first encounter with the canyon denizens. Everyone was desperate to touch her, speak to her and thank the Planet that she had visited them. It took some time for Deneh to become used to humans, but as she did so they became so much more intriguing to her. Her fleeting prior contact had never been good, but the people of Cosmo Canyon rapidly eroded her negative impressions with their happiness at her arrival.

Deneh's first knowledge of Nanaki's closest friends came from the picture Nanaki had brought back with him from Edge. She peered at the image and asked about each person in turn, Nanaki explaining at length about their shared past and his journey around the world. Aeris he had to reference separately and caused Nanaki a few descriptive problems; like Marlene but taller and older was his best solution for describing the last Cetra at the time, but no recounting of his past would have been complete without mentioning the flower girl.

A year after she arrived in the canyon, Deneh overheard a comment laced with innuendo about the two of them and looked at Nanaki with suspicious, narrowed eyes and Seto' son, embarrassed by the implications, found he could not meet her gaze. Neither of them were entirely eager to dwell on the pressure their position naturally put them in. They were, as far as they or anyone else currently knew, the absolute last of their kind, no matter how Nanaki hoped that this would not be the case. Their opposing genders made them ideal for the propagation of the species, but Nanaki found himself fearful of raising the subject; maybe he had spent too long with humans but he found himself wanting to engage in distinctly human-like courtship rituals. He grumpily wondered why he bothered after trying a few; Deneh had found them strange, confusing and ultimately hilarious when he explained what and why he was doing. The notions seemed odd to her, but she was at a loss to suggest other ways to deepen the emotional bond between them.

They gradually became closer and eventually began sleeping curled around each other in the cold nights of the canyon; though despite their intimacy, Deneh's pregnancy did not begin for several centuries. In the intervening years she joined Nanaki in mourning whenever a friend returned to the Planet; both those of Cosmo Canyon and of Avalanche. Now only Vincent remained to offer his congratulations at the news that she was pregnant, the gunman making a special journey to Cosmo Canyon ahead of their regular meetings at what remained of Midgar.

Deneh's pregnancy panicked them both; not that the outcome was a surprise, but they hadn't really ever stopped to consider what the next stage would be like. While there were treasure troves of information on human and animal pregnancies, births, complications and raising children, Nanaki and Deneh were horribly ill-prepared. Amongst the other lost information the canyon had once held were any details of Nanaki's mother's pregnancy or a rough record of how long it lasted. Or even, Nanaki queasily found himself thinking, if he was the sole cub in that litter. He then took it upon himself to document every stage of Deneh's pregnancy, taking time to ensure a record of the two of them would survive into the future; hopefully it would find use again.

Deneh's pregnancy lasted one hundred and eight days as near as they could estimate; each day after they confirmed she was carrying cubs was a nerve-wracking experience. Every-day could be the day they were born (well, not immediately but where was the cut-off?), and every day became potentially the day before. Deneh's belly had swelled, and Nanaki delighted in resting his head against it and feeling his children kick and move inside. So strange to think that they were now dozing against their mother's flank.

"I think they need names," Deneh sighed softly, her words slow with exhaustion.

Nanaki chuckled. "I think they do. Should we each suggest a name?"

"Sounds good..."

Nanaki nuzzled her. "I suggest Seto for the boy."

Deneh made an amused noise in her throat. "That feels appropriate. I like it. Wish I knew my parent's names."

"I know. I would have suggested your mother's name as well."

Deneh fell silent and Nanaki began to wonder if she'd dozed off when she suddenly spoke. "Aeris."

Nanaki was surprised by the suggestion. "Aeris?"

Deneh's eyes opened narrowly and looked at him. "In the absence of either pieces of knowledge, I'm choosing another tribute. I like the name, and given all you have told me she did for the Planet, I want her name to live on. Is there a problem with that?"

Nanaki shook his head vigorously. "Of course not!" He raised his head over her and looked down at the two cubs. "Welcome to the world; Seto, Aeris."

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**A/N:** Huge thanks to ariescelestial for suggesting the prompt interpretation and the discussion that lead to the idea of an alternate plot for _Case of Nanaki_ with that being how he first met Deneh.


End file.
